Billing
New York Medicaid Transportation Fee Schedule (2027): Ambulette, Stretcher, Taxi, and Livery Rates by County
Overview
The NYS Medicaid transportation fee schedule is the eMedNY spreadsheet of base and per-mile rates for every county, in a file dated April 5, 2026. Wheelchair ambulette base rates run $31.33 to $64.00 plus $3.00 to $4.50 a loaded mile, stretcher base rates $101 to $280, and New York City livery $22.97 plus $2.93 a mile. Rates MAS negotiates with you replace it.
- The eMedNY fee schedule file dated April 5, 2026 lists base and mileage rates for 57 counties and New York City, plus OMH and OPWDD rows.
- Medical Answering Services (MAS) negotiates your rates, and negotiated rates replace the schedule. Rate change requests go to the MAS provider hotline.
- Wheelchair ambulette base rates run from $31.33 in Seneca County to $64.00 in Nassau and Suffolk, and 42 of 58 rate areas pay $3.00 a loaded mile.
- In New York City, mileage is paid only after the first 8.0 loaded miles of a trip, according to state audit protocols revised July 22, 2026.
- Bill loaded miles to the tenth of a mile, mileage once for a shared ride, and each toll once per crossing.
New York Medicaid publishes one spreadsheet of transportation rates for the whole state: the NYS Medicaid Transportation Fee Schedule on eMedNY, the state’s Medicaid claims system. The version posted as of October 2026 is dated April 5, 2026. This page shows its base rates for every county and New York City, explains how to read the file, and covers the billing rules that change what a trip actually pays. For the rest of the program, see the New York guide.
What the fee schedule is and who it binds
The file’s own header says its fees apply to the fee-for-service broker and may reflect specific network negotiations. That broker is Medical Answering Services (MAS), which arranges Medicaid rides in all 62 counties. The state’s Medicaid Transportation Policy Manual (effective August 25, 2023) makes MAS responsible for negotiating rates with each transportation company, and says negotiated rates supersede the fee schedule.
So the schedule is a starting point, not a promise. As of October 2026, MAS says it manages requests for changes to the fee schedule, and an enrolled company asks for a rate adjustment through the MAS Transportation Provider Hotline at 866-242-2578. MAS assigns and authorizes trips, but New York Medicaid pays you through eMedNY. Members never pay a copay, and the manual bars drivers and companies from asking a member for payment. The MAS guide covers joining the network.
How to read the file
The schedule is an Excel workbook, not a PDF. As of October 2026:
- Download it from the eMedNY Transportation manual page, under Fee Schedule. The file is Transportation_Fee_Schedule.xls.
- Open the sheet called All COS. It holds every rate, about 2,300 rows. Two short side sheets repeat some New York City rows, and the Proc Code Def sheet names each code.
- Read the date line at the top, which shows 4/5/26. The right-hand column lists what changed in this version: “ADHC removed”, “T2005 updated”, and “A0170 HA, HB, HC removed”.
- Filter the County column. The 57 counties outside the city each have their own rows, New York City has one set of rows for all five boroughs, and two more groups are labeled OMH and OPWDD.
- Filter Category of Service: AMBULANCE, AMBULETTE, or TAXI/LIVERY/VAN.
- Find the base row. The row with a dash in the Modifier column is the base rate for that code. Rows with two-letter modifiers carry other amounts for the same code.
- Read the Fee and Effective Dates columns. Each date is when that amount took effect, so one county can show 2022, 2024, and 2026 dates side by side.
Some fees run to four or more decimal places in the file. The tables below round them to the cent.
The codes in the file
The Proc Code Def sheet names each code. These are the ones that matter for ambulette, taxi, and livery work:
| Code | What the file calls it | Category |
|---|---|---|
| A0130 | Wheelchair van | Ambulette |
| S0209 | Wheelchair van mileage, per mile | Ambulette |
| T2005 | Non-ambulatory stretcher van | Ambulette |
| T2049 | Stretcher van mileage | Ambulette |
| A0100 | Taxi | Taxi, livery, van |
| S0215 | Mileage, per mile | Taxi, livery, van |
| A0120 | Mini-bus, mountain area, or other transportation systems | Both |
| A0170 | Parking fees, tolls, other | All three |
The file’s header also warns that modifiers may not reflect their historical use, and that other payers should not read service definitions into these codes. Bill the code and modifier your MAS authorization shows. For what each code means nationally, see NEMT billing codes.
The OMH and OPWDD rows list $0.00 for every ambulette code. For OPWDD that fits the state manual: day programs certified by the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) pay for their clients’ rides out of their day program payments, and its certified residences provide or pay for residents’ medical trips at no cost to Medicaid. Many adult day health care programs also contract and pay for their own registrants’ trips, and Medicaid does not authorize those rides separately.
Ambulette and stretcher rates by county
Wheelchair ambulette base rates (A0130) run from $31.33 in Seneca County to $64.00 in Nassau and Suffolk. Six northern counties, Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence, pay $55.13 to $63.10 a trip and $3.86 to $4.30 a mile. Mileage (S0209) is $3.00 a loaded mile in 42 of the 58 rate areas (57 counties and New York City), and Broome pays the most at $4.50.
Stretcher base rates (T2005) cluster at a few amounts:
- $101: Albany, Broome, Erie, Hamilton, Monroe, Putnam, Schuyler, Tompkins, and Wayne, effective April 1, 2023.
- $172 to $182: most other upstate counties, with $181.80 in those six northern counties.
- $200: 14 counties, including Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess, and much of central New York.
- $230: New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, and Montgomery.
- $280: Onondaga, the highest, effective June 21, 2024.
Stretcher mileage (T2049) has a base row in only 11 counties: $3.00 in Albany, Chenango, Erie, and Monroe, $3.50 in Broome, $2.53 in Allegany and Orleans, $2.32 in Westchester, $1.92 in Oswego, $1.53 in Greene, and $0.00 in Herkimer. Everywhere else, ask MAS how stretcher miles are paid before you quote a long stretcher trip.
Most upstate ambulette base rates took effect August 1, 2024. Wheelchair base rates in a central New York group (Broome, Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, Tioga, and Tompkins) changed June 21, 2024, those in the six northern counties and New York City on May 30, 2024, and those in Nassau and Suffolk on May 20, 2024. Westchester followed on August 16, 2024 and Rockland on September 6, 2024. The newest base rates are Hamilton’s ($45.00 and $3.50, June 23, 2025), Sullivan’s ($44.00 and $4.00), and Ulster’s mileage ($4.00), the last two effective February 9, 2026. Some modifier rows are newer still, up to the April 5, 2026 file date.
Base rows from the April 5, 2026 file, in dollars per trip and per loaded mile:
| County | Wheelchair base | Per mile | Stretcher base |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York City | $52.90 | $3.60 | $230.00 |
| Albany | $43.00 | $3.00 | $101.00 |
| Allegany | $40.00 | $3.00 | $172.00 |
| Broome | $48.00 | $4.50 | $101.00 |
| Cattaraugus | $42.00 | $3.00 | $173.00 |
| Cayuga | $45.00 | $3.00 | $200.00 |
| Chautauqua | $41.00 | $3.00 | $173.00 |
| Chemung | $37.00 | $3.00 | $182.00 |
| Chenango | $38.00 | $3.00 | $200.00 |
| Clinton | $62.20 | $4.00 | $181.80 |
| Columbia | $43.00 | $3.00 | $172.00 |
| Cortland | $45.00 | $3.00 | $200.00 |
| Delaware | $54.00 | $3.00 | $200.00 |
| Dutchess | $38.00 | $3.00 | $200.00 |
| Erie | $41.00 | $3.00 | $101.00 |
| Essex | $62.26 | $4.28 | $181.80 |
| Franklin | $63.10 | $4.00 | $181.80 |
| Fulton | $47.00 | $3.00 | $172.00 |
| Genesee | $32.00 | $3.00 | $174.00 |
| Greene | $43.00 | $3.52 | $172.00 |
| Hamilton | $45.00 | $3.50 | $101.00 |
| Herkimer | $50.00 | $3.50 | $172.00 |
| Jefferson | $55.13 | $3.86 | $181.80 |
| Lewis | $55.23 | $3.88 | $181.80 |
| Livingston | $38.00 | $3.00 | $172.00 |
| Madison | $45.00 | $3.00 | $200.00 |
| Monroe | $44.00 | $3.00 | $101.00 |
| Montgomery | $47.00 | $3.00 | $230.00 |
| Nassau | $64.00 | $3.00 | $230.00 |
| Niagara | $41.00 | $3.00 | $172.00 |
| Oneida | $48.00 | $3.00 | $200.00 |
| Onondaga | $40.00 | $3.75 | $280.00 |
| Ontario | $40.00 | $3.00 | $172.00 |
| Orange | $38.00 | $3.00 | $200.00 |
| Orleans | $42.00 | $3.00 | $174.00 |
| Oswego | $40.00 | $3.00 | $200.00 |
| Otsego | $58.00 | $3.00 | $172.00 |
| Putnam | $38.00 | $3.00 | $101.00 |
| Rensselaer | $53.00 | $3.00 | $172.00 |
| Rockland | $45.00 | $3.75 | $200.00 |
| St. Lawrence | $62.20 | $4.30 | $181.80 |
| Saratoga | $54.00 | $3.00 | $172.00 |
| Schenectady | $43.00 | $3.00 | $172.00 |
| Schoharie | $57.00 | $3.00 | $172.00 |
| Schuyler | $38.00 | $3.00 | $101.00 |
| Seneca | $31.33 | $3.00 | $172.00 |
| Steuben | $40.00 | $3.00 | $172.00 |
| Suffolk | $64.00 | $3.00 | $230.00 |
| Sullivan | $44.00 | $4.00 | $200.00 |
| Tioga | $53.94 | $3.00 | $200.00 |
| Tompkins | $53.94 | $3.00 | $101.00 |
| Ulster | $38.00 | $4.00 | $200.00 |
| Warren | $59.00 | $3.00 | $172.00 |
| Washington | $59.00 | $3.00 | $172.00 |
| Wayne | $38.00 | $3.00 | $101.00 |
| Westchester | $47.00 | $3.50 | $200.00 |
| Wyoming | $37.00 | $3.00 | $172.00 |
| Yates | $46.00 | $3.00 | $172.00 |
Taxi and livery rates by county
Taxi and livery trips use A0100 for the trip and S0215 for each loaded mile. In New York City this is livery (category of service 0605), at $22.97 a trip and $2.93 a mile, effective April 1, 2022. Outside the city it is taxi (category 0603). The Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester rows also date from April 1, 2022, and most other county rows from December 31, 2022.
Upstate taxi base rates are low and vary widely, from $2.90 in Niagara County to $15.98 in Wyoming County. Some counties with a low base pay more per mile, such as Monroe ($3.23 and $3.47) and Niagara ($2.90 and $3.58). Warren County has no base A0100 row in this file, only its $1.98 mileage rate. Some counties also list A0120 rates, such as $20.20 in Westchester and $11.11 in Rockland.
Base rows from the April 5, 2026 file, in dollars:
| County | Base | Per mile |
|---|---|---|
| New York City | $22.97 | $2.93 |
| Albany | $7.52 | $1.34 |
| Allegany | $9.57 | $2.09 |
| Broome | $8.07 | $1.80 |
| Cattaraugus | $9.82 | $2.16 |
| Cayuga | $9.28 | $2.04 |
| Chautauqua | $10.68 | $2.08 |
| Chemung | $9.29 | $2.03 |
| Chenango | $9.07 | $1.98 |
| Clinton | $9.16 | $2.00 |
| Columbia | $10.60 | $2.30 |
| Cortland | $9.40 | $2.06 |
| Delaware | $9.24 | $2.03 |
| Dutchess | $6.64 | $2.34 |
| Erie | $7.36 | $2.66 |
| Essex | $9.11 | $2.00 |
| Franklin | $9.27 | $2.02 |
| Fulton | $8.97 | $1.97 |
| Genesee | $9.50 | $2.08 |
| Greene | $8.86 | $2.01 |
| Hamilton | $9.11 | $1.99 |
| Herkimer | $9.26 | $2.02 |
| Jefferson | $9.07 | $1.98 |
| Lewis | $10.95 | $2.47 |
| Livingston | $9.21 | $2.01 |
| Madison | $11.18 | $2.26 |
| Monroe | $3.23 | $3.47 |
| Montgomery | $8.96 | $1.97 |
| Nassau | $7.38 | $3.62 |
| Niagara | $2.90 | $3.58 |
| Oneida | $3.87 | $1.92 |
| Onondaga | $3.01 | $3.40 |
| Ontario | $9.43 | $2.06 |
| Orange | $3.83 | $1.74 |
| Orleans | $9.24 | $2.02 |
| Oswego | $9.24 | $2.02 |
| Otsego | $9.25 | $2.02 |
| Putnam | $9.35 | $2.57 |
| Rensselaer | $8.86 | $1.94 |
| Rockland | $9.39 | $2.05 |
| St. Lawrence | $8.99 | $1.96 |
| Saratoga | $9.72 | $2.20 |
| Schenectady | $8.81 | $1.94 |
| Schoharie | $8.83 | $2.06 |
| Schuyler | $10.72 | $2.34 |
| Seneca | $9.10 | $1.99 |
| Steuben | $9.24 | $2.02 |
| Suffolk | $6.89 | $3.87 |
| Sullivan | $9.34 | $2.13 |
| Tioga | $10.72 | $2.34 |
| Tompkins | $9.11 | $2.00 |
| Ulster | $9.14 | $2.00 |
| Warren | Not listed | $1.98 |
| Washington | $9.02 | $1.98 |
| Wayne | $10.98 | $2.39 |
| Westchester | $7.41 | $2.34 |
| Wyoming | $15.98 | $1.83 |
| Yates | $9.10 | $1.99 |
An ambulette company can carry taxi-level riders too. MAS says Medicaid pays for taxi service in any appropriately licensed vehicle, and the state manual lets ambulette companies use sedans and minivans for curb-to-curb trips, billed with taxi codes. Those trips pay your county’s taxi rate, and NYSDOT does not inspect those cars.
New York City rules that change the math
New York City has one set of rows for all five boroughs, and city-only rules decide what a trip pays. They appear in the state’s ambulette and taxi or livery audit protocols, revised July 22, 2026 for trips through July 16, 2026, which the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) uses as its guide when it audits claims:
- Fixed rates inside a borough. The city has fixed rates for trips inside a borough and for trips that leave one. When a trip stays inside a borough, extra mileage should not be ordered.
- Mileage starts at mile 8.0. All city non-emergency mileage is paid only after 8.0 passenger-laden miles, from mile 8.0 to the end of the trip.
- A Manhattan add-on. The state pays one flat add-on per Medicaid passenger for one-way ambulette or livery trips longer than 3.0 miles that start or end below 110th Street in Manhattan.
At the base rates, a city wheelchair trip with 12.4 loaded miles pays the $52.90 base plus $15.84 for the 4.4 miles past mile 8.0 at $3.60, or $68.74 in all. A 5-mile city trip pays the $52.90 base only. The city’s A0130 code also lists 22 other amounts under modifiers, from $25.25 to $75.75, so bill the code and modifier your MAS authorization shows.
Car service in Manhattan’s congestion zone carries one more charge. Since January 1, 2019, taxi, livery, black car, and app-based trips that start in, end in, or enter the zone pay a surcharge of $2.75 for one passenger or $0.75 per passenger in a shared ride, and Medicaid repays it as A0170 with the TU or TK modifier, at exactly those amounts in the fee schedule. Ambulettes and ambulances are exempt. The New York City guide covers city licensing.
Billing rules that change what a trip pays
The rate is only half the claim. These rules, from the state policy manual and the eMedNY billing guidelines (version 2026-02, August 5, 2026), decide how many units you bill:
- Loaded miles to the tenth. Since August 1, 2019, mileage is billed in tenths of a mile, such as 0.9 for a trip under one mile. Never round up: the manual says rounded-up claims may be deemed fraudulent. If your billing system cannot report tenths, the manual lets you round down to the whole mile until the state sets an end date. See loaded miles.
- Shared rides pay mileage once. When you carry two or more Medicaid riders together, bill the base rate for each rider but bill mileage only once, from the first pickup to the last drop-off, on the first rider’s claim.
- People who live together count as one trip. Two members from the same home going to the same place get one authorized trip with an additional rider. Neighbors in their own apartments in one building still get separate trips, and so do residents of adult homes and nursing facilities.
- Round trips are two units. Use a separate claim line for each date of service, enter two units for a round trip, and charge the one-way fee times two. Edit 7-0 denies more daily units than the authorization allows.
- Never bill more than your usual charge. The billing guidelines say the amount charged may not exceed your usual charge for the service.
- Tolls are billed at cost. Bill the actual toll once per crossing per vehicle, not per rider. Toll-by-mail is repaid only at the E-ZPass rate.
- No-shows are not paid. MAS says Medicaid pays only when the member is transported and receives Medicaid services.
Here is how the units work at April 5, 2026 schedule rates, before any rate MAS negotiates with you:
- St. Lawrence County, wheelchair, 18.4 loaded miles each way. One way pays $62.20 plus 18.4 × $4.30, or $141.32. The round trip bills two base units and 36.8 miles, for $282.64.
- Albany County, stretcher, 9.6 loaded miles. $101.00 plus 9.6 × $3.00 in stretcher mileage, or $129.80.
- Monroe County, two wheelchair riders in one van. Both go to the same clinic. The first rider rides 11.2 miles and the second joins along the way for 6.5. The first claim is $44.00 plus 11.2 × $3.00, or $77.60. The second is the $44.00 base only, for $121.60 in all.
For shared-ride planning, see NEMT multiloading. For mileage records that hold up in an audit, see NEMT mileage billing.
How to use the schedule before you quote or buy a van
- Find your rows. Pull the base and mileage rows for each county you will serve and each mode you plan to run.
- Price a typical trip. Multiply your average loaded miles by the mileage rate and add the base. A van on short city trips earns mostly base rates, while on long rural trips the mileage can pay more than the base.
- Compare it with your cost. Put that number next to your cost per trip, including empty miles, which Medicaid does not pay. The NEMT cost per trip guide shows the math.
- Ask MAS for your rate in writing before you sign or buy a vehicle, since its negotiated rate replaces the schedule. See how to negotiate NEMT broker rates.
- Request a change when costs move. Call the MAS Transportation Provider Hotline at 866-242-2578 with your numbers.
- Recheck the file date on eMedNY before every quote. Sullivan and Ulster changed on February 9, 2026, so a saved copy can go stale.
- Bill what the authorization shows. Your claim must match the codes, units, and dates on your MAS trip roster.
For how New York’s rates compare with other states, see NEMT reimbursement rates.
Frequently asked questions
Does the NYS Medicaid fee schedule set what I get paid?
Not directly. The state's Medicaid Transportation Policy Manual (effective August 25, 2023) makes the broker, Medical Answering Services (MAS), responsible for negotiating rates with each company, and negotiated rates supersede the fee schedule. The file itself says its fees may reflect network negotiations. Use the schedule as the starting point, and ask MAS for your county's rate before you sign.
Where do I download the New York Medicaid transportation fee schedule?
On the eMedNY Transportation manual page, under Fee Schedule. It is an Excel file named Transportation_Fee_Schedule.xls, dated April 5, 2026 as of October 2026. Open the sheet called All COS and filter the County and Category of Service columns. The row with a dash in the Modifier column is the base rate.
Why does my New York City trip pay no mileage?
Because the trip was short. The state's ambulette and taxi or livery audit protocols, revised July 22, 2026, say New York City mileage is paid only after the first 8.0 passenger-laden miles, from mile 8.0 to the end of the trip. Trips inside one borough are paid at a fixed rate without extra mileage. A 5-mile trip in the city pays the base rate only.
Can an ambulette company bill taxi rates for car trips?
Yes, if DOH and MAS authorize you for taxi or livery trips. The state manual lets an ambulette company send curb-to-curb trips in sedans or minivans, which NYSDOT does not inspect, and bill them with the taxi codes. Those trips pay the taxi or livery rate for your county, not the ambulette rate.
Does Medicaid pay tolls and the Manhattan congestion surcharge?
Tolls, yes: bill the actual toll once per crossing per vehicle, on code A0170, and toll-by-mail is paid only at the E-ZPass rate. The congestion surcharge that began January 1, 2019 applies to taxi, livery, black car, and app-based trips, at $2.75 for one passenger or $0.75 per passenger in a shared ride, billed as A0170 with the TU or TK modifier. Ambulettes and ambulances are exempt.
What do the two-letter modifiers in the fee schedule mean?
Each modifier row is a different amount for the same code, used for particular trip types. The file warns that modifiers may not reflect their historical use and that other payers should not read service definitions into them. Each prior authorization covers specific dates and procedures, so bill the code and modifier your MAS trip roster shows.